Have you ever felt that seasoning food was somewhat akin to playing a game of “pin the tail on the donkey”?  Add a little of this and it’s too spicy, add a little of that and now it’s too salty…How many times have you anticipated the robust and bold flavor of something you’re cooking and when you taste it are left with the thought “hmm…it needs something but I’m not sure what”?  Flavor can be an elusive thing as it depends on so many factors…ripeness, handling and cooking of a food item, combinations of other foods, length of cooking and the list goes on. 

So what is one to do when you encounter that lack of flavor?  First, keep in mind that the body can recognize 4 basic flavor elements: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.  There is a fifth one called umami but involves a bit more elaboration and is better left to a discussion  unto itself.  The more of those 4 basic flavors that we can incorporate into our cooking the more flavorful your food will be.

How does it work?  Our tastebuds can sense all 4 basic flavors but are grouped in areas that are more keenly focused toward specific profiles: sweet, sour, bitter, salty.  Incorporating these flavor elements helps to activate the sensors in that part of the mouth and create a lively sense of flavor – literally a “tingling of the tastebuds”.

If you’ve ever had strawberries soaked in balsamic vinegar with black pepper you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about – the strawberries provide sweetness which will activate the tastebuds at the front of the mouth, the vinegar provides both an acidic bite that will put the salivary glands on the side of the mouth to work and the black pepper offers up a pungent bitter bite that leaves a tingling in the back of the mouth before they disappear.  A small sprinkling of salt in the preparation will help to ensure that all flavors are more apparent and lively!

Where do you start?  The next time you eagerly anticipate a robust lively flavor and are instead met with a one-note wonder, start by adding salt.  Salt’s role in seasoning is to highlight and bring out the other flavors in a dish.  Nine times out of ten I find that by simply adding a bit more salt, the other flavors will begin to sing.  Adding salt at the table merely makes food taste salty, it is important to add it during the cooking process to help it highlight the flavors of the food.  If you’ve added salt and it still seems a bit dull try using an acid (vinegar, lemon juice, etc.). Acidic elements will also help to highlight flavors.  Sweet flavors help to diminish heat while spice, bitterness and acids will soften excessive saltiness. 

 Flavor….it’s what’s for dinner!